WASHINGTON –Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist seemingly hit a wall in December and the first half of January, but some simple advice has made him one of the hottest scorers in the NHL the past two weeks.

Nyquist has eight goals in his past seven games and 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in his past eight games. He has 13 goals in only 30 games this season.

“He’s always been good, always created a lot of stuff; now he’s just putting up the points, too,” linemate Henrik Zetterberg said. “It’s fun to see. He works hard, does a lot of good things. He's got the right mindset. It’s a lot of fun to play with him and Abby (Justin Abdelkader) and it’s fun to see him score some goals.”

Nyquist scored four goals in five games after being recalled from the Grand Rapids Griffins on Nov. 20. He scored only one goal (with five assists) in his next 18 games.

“Puck’s finding me, I guess, but also look at a couple goals I got today; passes Z makes, they’re pretty good passes,” Nyquist said. “Obviously it helps to play with him and Abby.

“Abby does a great job for our line. He’s always first on the forecheck, he’s a big body and he wins so many pucks for us. My linemates are a huge part of that.”

Confidence plays a key role as well.

“It’s good to have confidence out there,” Nyquist said. “You create a lot more chances. You use your time better when you have the puck. You make better plays when you have confidence.”

Said coach Mike Babcock: “He’s a good player, we expect him to be a good player. He’s playing with a real good player in Zetterberg. Zetterberg is very determined and making good plays, so I thought their line was dominant tonight.”

Nyquist’s best career game was bittersweet, however, because his team earned only one point.

“It doesn’t matter who scores if we don’t get two points,” Nyquist said.

It probably matters to the Swedish Olympic team. Nyquist, Washington’s Marcus Johansson and Nashville’s Patric Hornqvist are on the country’s reserve list for a spot in the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Sweden needs a replacement for Red Wings forward Johan Franzen (concussion), and Nyquist is going to be hard to overlook.

“No word,” Nyquist said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Club not sure if Pavel Datsyuk will return before Olympics

Babcock had no update on Pavel Datsyuk, who has missed 13 games with an unspecified knee injury.

The club has three games before the Olympic break and Babcock said he has no idea if Datsyuk will play in any of them.

Datsyuk has maintained for weeks that he will return before the Olympics. He is the captain for the host country and would especially hate to miss this event. The Red Wings have no say in whether he can play in Sochi.

“I just watched him in practice; his one leg isn’t holding up,” Babcock said. “Obviously, Pavel wants to play for his country and he wants to be a part of things, but you got to be healthy.”